Krasnodar Krai and Adygea Voyage Tips and guide

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Adygea, officially the Republic of Adygea, is an autonomous region in Southern Russia completely enclaved within Krasnodar Krai. Adygea is ethnically distinct, as Circassians are about 25% of the population while ethnic Russians represent 60% of it. However, for geographic reasons, we cover this republic along with Krasnodar Krai. Krasnodar Krai offers travelers Russia's premiere beach resorts as well as some of Europe's tallest mountains in its Caucasian south.

Map of Krasnodar Krai and Adygea

• 45.03333338.9833331 Krasnodar — capital and principal city of Krasnodar Krai
• 44.640.0833332 Maykop - the capital of Adygea and its biggest city
• 43.42888939.9238893 Adler
• 44.89444437.3166674 Anapa — an ancient Pontic Greek port, now a small, family-friendly Russian beach resort town
• 44.56083338.0766675 Gelendzhik — small beach town east of Novorossiysk
• 44.71666737.7666676 Novorossiysk — Russia's main Black Sea port, a must for World War II buffs, but it also has some nice sandy beaches
• 43.58527839.7202787 Sochi — a big resort city located in a simply beautiful area, where Russians come for fun in the sun (and in the nightclubs!)
• 44.139.0833338 Tuapse

• 43.6739.951 Caucasian Biosphere Reserve — a UNESCO World Heritage Site in the breathtakingly beautiful Western Caucasus, home to the newly reintroduced European buffalo
• 43.67861140.2052782 Krasnaya Polyana — a Western Caucasus ski resort and personal favourite destination of President Putin
• Sochinsky National Park

Krasnodar Krai has the most fortunate climate conditions in Russia. Reasonably, it attracts many people to live there: with over 5 million population it has the 3rd place in Russia after Moscow and Moscow Oblast. The region is famous as "Granary of Russia": its agricultural production is feeding the whole country and being exported.

Krasnodar Krai also contains Russia's largest tourist industry by some measure, catering principally to domestic tourists. The region contains a full 25% of all Russia's registered hotels and resorts. For international travelers, the biggest reasons to visit it are to see the stunning and lush slopes of Western Caucasus mountains and to party po-russky at the beach! Anyone visiting a seaside resort should consider reading Bunin's Sunstroke (Солнечный удар), one of the most beautiful short stories ever written.

Krasnodar Krai encompasses two major distinct climactic regions. The northern two thirds of the region (north of the Kuban River) is covered by Russia's near ubiquitous steppe and has a continental climate. The southern part of the region, however, is much more exotic, ranging from a Mediterranean climate along the Black Sea coast to subtropical in the southeast to high alpine along the border with Georgia and Abkhazia.

Additionally, Krasnodar Krai encircles the enclaved Russian region of Adygea Republic — named for the mountain Adyghe people, also known as the Circassians.

Krasnodar Krai can be divided in three tourist regions:

• The Black Sea coastline ("Russian Riviera")
• The Azov Sea coastline
• Inner Krasnodar Krai

Adygea is one of only a few fully enclaved Russian Federation regions (the only other ones are the cities of Moscow and Saint Petersburg). All its territory is surrounded by Krasnodar Krai.

The most popular months to visit Adygea are September and October in the heart of autumn when the leaves change to vivid colors and the temperature is in the Goldilocks zone.

Everyone, including ethnic minorities, speaks Russian. Adyghe and Russian are the official languages of Adygea.

The principal rail service for the region comes from virtually any Russian city through Rostov-on-Don from the north to Krasnodar, Novorossiysk, and as far south as Adler. There are cheap express trains (~18–20 hours) from Moscow and Saint Petersburg to Krasnodar.

45.03472239.1705561 Krasnodar International Airport (KRR ^IATA) is serviced by flights from Vienna, Frankfurt, Thessalonika, and Istanbul, as well as by numerous domestic Russian flights. It is also easy to fly to Sochi (AER ^IATA) or Anapa (AAQ ^IATA) from any major Russian city.

It is possible to arrive at Sochi or Novorossiysk by boat from numerous ports on the Black Sea.

Direct buses from Krasnodar bus station, 170 руб, 2.5 hours.

Intercity buses from many other cities in Krasnodar krai, nearby regions and even from Moscow. Buses are very old and in poor condition, no air conditioning. Use trains if possible, especially in summer.

A number of trains (from Moscow etc.) stop at Belorechenskaya station, where bus and local train connections to Maykop are available.

Fast local train from Adler/Sochi goes once per day, scenic sea views between Sochi and Tuapse, 700 руб first class, 650 руб 2nd, timetable (stand Oct 2011): Maykop 05:50 - Sochi 11:30, Sochi 17:05 - Maykop 22:45.

Adygea is home to several cultural and natural museums, providing a glimpse into the region's history and wildlife respectively. There are also a number of mosques and churches, reflecting Adygea's diverse religious composition.

• Rafting is done on the Belaya River in Adygea.

• Hiking is a popular activity in Adygea. Almost half of the republic is covered in forest, and there are many hiking trails.

Throughout Adygea, you will find restaurants serving traditional Adyghe cuisine, which has much in common with the food from the rest of the Northern Caucasus, in addition to Russian and international cuisines. Local specialties include mataz, which are dumplings filled with mashed potatoes, a meat mixture and fried onions, and haliva, a turnover filled with potatoes or Circassian cheese.

• Krasnodar tea (Краснодарский чай). This is the only tea sort grown in Russia, being the northernmost one in the world (due to climate conditions, it's impossible to cultivate tea to the north from Sochi). There are several tea plantations in Greater Sochi in Dagomys, Solokhaul [29] (Lazarevskoe district) and Adler. The amount of their production is limited, so it's not easy to meet it outside the region. Baloven (Баловень) tea brand by Dagomys Tea Plant is available at regional shops. Group tours to tea plants are also available. 
• Local alcohol. Surprisingly, Russia is the 11th-largest wine producer in the world, and 60% of all Russian wine is manufactured in Krasnodar Krai. So, there is possible to buy many kinds of this drink, starting from home-made and market-sold wine in no-brand plastic bottles (looks dangerous, but is spoken to be the best one), finishing with premium-class aged wine and brandy in souvenir boxes. To avoid fake brand production buy it at chain stores. 
  • Abrau Durso sparkling wines. Abrau Durso (plant near Novorossiysk) is the leading and the best-known Russian producer of a wide array of sparkling wines, from odious "Soviet Shampagne" to the exclusive Imperial and Millesime wine collections. The production technology is based on traditional shampagnoise method. Abrau Durso (Абрау-Дюрсо) wine is distributed to all Russian regions and exported. The price varies greatly depending on the collection item. 
  • Abkhazian wines. There are several brands of wine from Abkhazia those are widely common in Russian shops and popular for their inimitative taste. Apsny (Апсны) - red semi-sweet wine from the mix of Cabernet, Sovignon, Merlot and Saperavi grape. Chegem (Чегем) - red dry wine from Cabernet grape. Lykhny (Лыхны) - red semi-sweet wine from Isabella grape. Psou (Псоу) - white semi-sweet wine from Aligote and Riesling grape. 250-500 RUR per bottle. 
  • Brand wines of Krasnodar Krai. The best wine brands in the region are Fanagoria (Фанагория) [1] and Myskhako (Мысхако), both produced in Novorossiysk area and having the wide assortment. 200-500 RUR per bottle. 
  • Brandy. This alcohol drink is called Cognac (Коньяк) at Russian domestic market, but is exported as Brandy due to necessity to follow the copyright of Cognac province of France. With Dagestan and Stavropol Krai, Krasnodar Krai is among 3 regions of Russia, those grape is acceptable for brandy production. The factory in Temryuk town near Taman makes the best brandy in Krasnodar Krai, including the aged and souvenir collection. From 150 RUR per bottle for ordinary drink, to 2,500 RUR for upper-class souvenir bottles. 

Nightlife is present mainly in Maykop. Alcohol is unlimited, there are nightclubs and bars, but the residents of Adygea themselves prefer to have fun in the neighboring Krasnodar and Sochi, so draw your own conclusions.

Dombai, perhaps Russia's most beautiful resort, is in nearby Karachay-Cherkessia in the Caucasus mountains.